Blood harvest – the hidden cost of Italy’s orange trade

Ecostorm / Ecologist Film Unit recently travelled to Calabria in Southern Italy to investigate claims that the seasonal orange harvest makes use of African migrants, many of them paid poverty wages and living in squalid conditions. The region’s oranges are frequently bought by multinational food and drink companies for use as juices or concentrates, often ending up in soft drinks. So bad is the situation in the town of Rosarno that medical charities have described conditions as being similar – or worse – as those encountered in conflict zones overseas.